Healey's Latest

Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball has some new rumors for us this morning.

• There's talk that if the Twins are more than five games out at the trading deadline, they'll start dealing veterans.  An obvious one is Luis Castillo, earning $5.75MM this season.  He has long been connected to the Mets.  He almost signed with New York as a free agent and the team has tried trading for him before.  Healey believes Lastings Milledge is too much to give up, so don't look for a straight up swap of those two.  Though I imagine the Twins would love having Milledge to man center field in 2008.
• The Reds are ten games under .500 and ten out in the NL Central.  Healey speculates that Adam Dunn, Ryan Freel, and Dave Weathers are the Reds' most tradeable commodities.  The Reds recently extended Freel through 2009, though - I think they want him around as a fan favorite.  Dunn I can see being moved.  He earns $10.5MM this year with a $13MM club option for '08.  He's got an unsurprising line of .263/.366/.538; that's worth $13 mil these days.  The Dodgers or White Sox seem like good fits.   

Comments

[StLknows]

I do not understand why the reds want to get rid of Dunn. if I lived in Cincy his blasts would be the only reason I went to games. isn't a guy that hits 40+ homers year after year worth 13 mil? meanwhile Giambi is getting 20+ mil.

[coolpapabell]

Jose Valentin is due to come back before the trading deadline and the Mets current second base platoon is holding their own. It would be a waste of resources to trade for Castillo when I think he will be a free agent at the end of the year.

[quintjs]

I think coolpapabell makes a good point about Luis Castillo.

That would be a good post to do one slow day, the Twins decisions and trade rumors Castillo, Hunter - in line with keeping Morneau, Cuddyer, Santana, Nathan ?

[Maracucho]

Again the rumors of left handed hitters to the White Sox! Seems like every sportswriter is jumping on that bandwagon... (See my comment on Heyman's take on Griffey Jr. to the Sox on http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/05/heymans_propose.html ).

While I don't think that Dunn is really bad (.836 OPS in last three years) against lefties, the White Sox could benefit from another R hitter. They will probably loose Dye at the end of the year, so if the trade happens the middle of the order will be Dunn, Konerko, Thome. While that is an OBP machine, what will they do against LH SPs?

Uribe and Iguchi will probably be gone after the year. So the returning players would be Podsednik (L), Crede (R, again mulling wether to have offseason surgery for back hernias), Thome (L), Dunn (L) Pierzynski (L), Konerko (R). That is a bit L heavy for my taste. In order to balance the lineup, the Sox would need to sign /trade for a top quality right handed hitter for either CF, 3B, SS or 2B, but frankly I don't see that happening.

[astralpanda]

I'd love to see Dunn on the Sox, we just can't get rid of any major league pitching for him.

[John Peterson]

Ugh... Luis Castillo for Lastings Milledge? Sounds like something Steve Phillips would do. That is wrong in so many ways.

Though If the Twins 'threw in' Francisco Liriano, it would be another story...

[gatling]

While Cot's Contracts doesn't list it, I've read in multiple places that Dunn's 2008 option voids if he's traded and he becomes a free agent. That might have some implications on a trade involving Dunn.

[WestCoastBias]

I'd love to see the Padres go after Dunn. The Reds love trading for pitching and the Padres have it to spare. I've seen this quoted ad nauseum but let's all remember that Clay Hensley was a Top 15 pitcher in ERA last year. He definitely has value and packaged along with Terrmel Sledge and a RP (Andrew Brown's tearing up AAA once again), it could get the deal done. The Padres would need to work out an extension for it to make sense, but they could always just collect the draft picks after the season if they can't.

[schellis]

If the Reds were to trade Dunn they would have to get back a right handed impact hitter and a pitcher in return. Basically more then any team would part with. Dunn because of the option has more value to the Reds then any other team.

He is also the only offensive player that can really be counted on for a full season and the Reds offense is already average with him. Take out Dunn and you probably have one of the worst offenses in the majors.

The reason why people in Cincy want to see him gone is because they believe him to be unclutch and only have one tool, likening him to Dave Kingman.

Personally as a Reds fan I much rather see Dunn signed to a four or five year contract at around 13 million per year and deal Griffey and Freel.

Griffey is playing great now, but is always a risk for injury though the move to RF probably reduces that a little. Freel is a bad player that gets by on hustle. Definatley over rated, and definately not a starter. If I could get some team to cough up a quality player for him I make the move.

[Deviation]

Milledge looks to be a possible .300 hitter with low to middling power at the major league level without that much in the way of base stealing - which is all fine and dandy from a middle-infielder. This guy plays in the outfield. What makes him so great that people keep hyping him?

[hotsaucenchickin]

I think that there are a lot of fits for Dunn out west with the pitcher-prospect wealthy teams. However, I don't think the best thing for Dunn would be to go to a National League team. The best thing for him would to become a DH somewhere in the American League. Now I don't know if Dunn is valuable enough to pick up Kemp and Broxton from the Dodgers but I would not mind seeing that trade.

Dunn's value also could be very high because of his above average start...for him.

I don't think they are trying but if someone gives them the right offer I would not be suprised to see the trigger happy Krivsky pull it.

If the Reds are as much out of contention at the trading deadline as they are now, I think that there may be some type of trade. The Reds may decide to go younger and get rid of Dunn. Eventually the Reds are going to have to get rid of him because Dunn is only keeping LF warm for Jay Bruce.

If the Reds get some much needed bullpen help and starting pitching for Dunn and Freel you can just imagine the Reds lineup in a few years.

1B-Joey Votto
2B-Brandon Phillips
SS-Alex Gonzalez
3B-Edwin Encarnacion
LF-Jay Bruce
CF-Josh Hamilton
RF-Griffey/Drew Stubbs
C-David Ross

SP1-Homer Bailey
SP2-Aaron Harang
SP3-Bronson Arroyo

Plus whatever pitching the Reds pick up.

[J.L.]

Broxton and Kemp for Dunn is pretty unlikely. More likely to get a bounty of relief pitching (Brazoban, Meloan) and prospects or Ethier. Don't think Reds would accept that though. Heard the Dodgers are looking to deal Loney but the Reds don't need him.

[DentalPlan]

Why would anyone even mention Luis Castillo in connection with Lastings Milledge. There's no way.

Castillo isn't the player was for the World Champs. He gets caught stealing so much he shouldn't steal, his defense has declined, a .728 OPS from a 2nd baseman is not worth much, this guy is now in Adam Kennedy/Mark Loretta territory.

As for the last guy, why bother even mentioning that? Brazobum and Meloan? You're as bad as the guy who says Kyle Davies will be traded for everyone. You really think the Dodgers would get Adam Dunn for less than they got Toby Hall and Danys Baez?

[Aduncaroo]

I truly believe that if the Dodgers don't get a deal done...they are stupid. Dunn going to LA...really either team, meaning the dodgers or Angels makes all the sense in the world.

Actually now that I think about it, the Angels have the pitching to trade for him and if they could get an extension signed for Dunn....a lineup that gives Vlad the protection of Dunn would be outstanding. Anyway...I just cannot see why either LA team doesn't do something. They both NEED his bat badly...and like someone said before: even if they can't get an extension worked out, which both teams have plenty of money to do, they would be compensated with draft picks.

[J.L.]

Uh, no trading Broxton and Kemp for Dunn, who can go anywhere he wants in 2008, THAT is dumb. And no, its not overrating prospects. Broxton by himself is 22 and already capable of being an elite closer. That's worth one year of Dunn?

[nrmax88]

"Milledge looks to be a possible .300 hitter with low to middling power at the major league level without that much in the way of base stealing which is all fine and dandy from a middle-infielder. This guy plays in the outfield. What makes him so great that people keep hyping him?"

Well, he has one of the quickest bats I have seen in a while, I would be surprised if he is a 30 HR hitter and a 20 base stealer perennially. Ive heard a lot of people compare him to Gary Sheffield at that age. Reading your "scouting report" on him, I would be willing to wager you havent seen him play more then like 3 times, one of which was probably the green monster debacle. Where did you get that information from?

[nrmax88]

wouldnt be surprised*